The end of an era...

Have you ever had a such a great time doing something that, when it was over, you were both exhilerated by the experience and sad it was behind you at the same time?

Such is the case with this post. A longtime and founding member of the Intercoastal Pirates, Stuart Herbst, is taking his leave of the ship to attend to more important matters on land, with his many friends, family, and business associates. Anyone who has sailed the waters of the weekdays working/weekends playing musician can attest to the fact of how difficult it can be to manage all of the things you love, and give them all their due attention. Stu has been a seaworthy companion and friend these many years, and we wish him nothing but success in whatever he puts his hand to in the coming months and years.

Proper respect dictates credit being given where it is due, and Stu has quite a bit of credit due to him. As mentioned earlier, Stu was here from the beginning, even taking significant credit for naming the band. And while some still say "What??" when they hear the name for the first time, they certainly remember it once they have it down! Stuart is one of the two remaining members from the group Backlash, the band that eventually became the Intercoastal Pirates, leaving Chris Faulk as the only member here from the dawn of time. :)

Stu has been in the music, and later the business, scene of Brazoria and surrounding counties since the 1970s, and has contributed to many area bands. He brought his expertise and hard-charging style to ICP, helping to forge a sound that became one of the most popular in the county. You can bet Stu will not disappear from the music scene, and already has some work going in the recording and film industries (we don't want to steal his thunder on that, so we will leave the rest of the story to him!). You'll be hearing from him again, maybe in some surprising ways!

The Intercoastal Pirates wish Stuart and his family the best and brightest of futures, and express heartfelt thanks for years of dedicated contribution. Play on, Thunder!

Of course, you don't replace a family member. We'll just add another seat at the pirate table for the person who will shoulder the drumming chores from here on out. As soon as it comes to pass, we'll be sure to introduce you to the newest Pirate!

Never fear, Powder Monkeys, we wouldn't bring home anyone you wouldn't be afraid of...

Drunker than...

Cooter Brown! We've heard it for years. And if anyone is sampling the rum or grog, we want to know where it may be happening. Figuring to find an answer to the query of just how drunk Cooter Brown might be, the Pirates were off to Brazoria for a first hand look at Cooter Brown's Country Club!

Well, Cooter was well behaved, and he has quite a nice club, to boot! A wide open dance floor, lots of fun loving patrons, a very capable wait staff, and the one thing bound to impress any of the many female fans... clean restrooms! Now, if you've been a'pillaging for very long, you know just how rare that can be. Hats off to the crew at Cooter's. We hope to visit you again real soon.

Having answered the age old question of Cooter Brown's sobriety level, we move on to other waters and places in need of a good pirating. We will be pointing the ship up-river to Dido's this Saturday. Always a great place to play, it will be all the better this time with the cooler temperatures outside. We're looking forward to it, and strongly suggest you reserve a table if you're planning on bringing a group. Good food, good friends, a beautiful location... come and make a few memories with the band!

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!! The band has been selling a special sort of raffle ticket. The winner of the drawing will get the Intercoastal Pirates, playing at their event! That's right, we raffled US! Why would we do such a thing? It is our part in the fight against breast cancer. The band has been personally touched by the impacts of breast cancer, and are committed to do our part in supporting research for treatment and a cure! We send a very sincere thank you out to all who have purchased tickets for this event, you are doing more good than you know. All proceeds from the raffle will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to fund breast cancer treatment research. The drawing will be at Dido's, so come out and see who the lucky pillagee-to-be shall be!

The following week will find us even further inland, at the Armadillo Ballroom in Brazoria. For those who may not know, The 'Dillo is a southeast Texas institution. Many bands and artists of renown have played there and it has been a musical center for live acts most of our lives so we are looking forward to visiting their shores. Making it all the more special is that it is a sort of reunion of Columbia school students... no specific year, it it's your Alma Mater then you are who they're looking for!

Many more ports to be visited through the year, and we are already booking into 2011. We hope to see you soon!